Transforming Talent: the Future of the Military Fellows Program

Everyone seeking post-military employment should have access to a transformative career experience prior to choosing their next mission. We’re opening up these opportunities at places like Major League Baseball, Uber, Publicis Groupe, Symantec and many other exciting companies this fall.

We built and launched the Military Fellows Program last year to give people leaving the military the conviction they need to pursue non-traditional pathways. We focused on industries like media and technology where veterans are frustratingly underrepresented and also in parts of the workforce where it can be especially difficult to find traction during a mid-career shift.

We started with a question that we believe applies to career communities far beyond the military:

“If you’re making a dramatic career change, how do you know what you’ll like? How do you find the best fit—the role that pays you the most and makes you the happiest?”

Our answer: low-risk, high-reward, transformative work experiences. If known pathways existed between industries that look very different from each other, I believe people would try new things more often. We’d be one step closer to a future where workers get credit for past experiences and can reinvent themselves when they’re ready for new challenges.

The first Military Fellows became alumni a few months ago and all of them received at least one full-time offer of employment prior to leaving the military. We’re extremely excited about this progress and we’re dramatically increasing the number of Military Fellowships we’re facilitating this fall.

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Today, the Military Fellowship is a work experience for soon-to-be veterans to develop valuable commercial skills and prepare for successful post-military careers. Fellowships are 2-3 months in length and the purpose is to maximize learning, translate and build upon skills, and establish an impactful professional network.

Fellowships come in “flavors”—consulting, operations, project management, data analytics, technology sales, human resources—and Military Fellows often work on a variety of projects on different teams. After a few months inside an organization, fellows are prepared to compete for and accept multiple roles at their host company.

Even if the company isn’t a great mutual fit, it’s hard to put into words how valuable and differentiating just a little bit of commercial experience is for someone changing careers: it provides deep insight into yourself, your goals, and creates a portfolio of work that is relevant and meaningful to future employers.

Much like the military, these opportunities are like a speeding train. They're hard to assess from the outside, but if you find the right fit, you can experience personal growth at a breathtaking pace. Our common application is the front door to 50+ “non-traditional” companies who value the grit and determination military veterans bring to the table.

For now, we’re only able to offer the experience for Active Duty military in their final months of service, but we’re going to offer these programs for veterans as well. To be notified when we launch Military Fellowships for veterans, you can subscribe to our list here.

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The People

Today’s veterans have incredible stories—and if there's a defining characteristic we can apply to the majority of service members, it’s that they’re world-class learners.

As an example, over the course of six years, a service member may change jobs four times, completing four distinct tours of duty ranging from small unit leadership to individual contributions on a large staff. With each tour of duty, a service member learns a new skill set, integrates into a new team, and leverages their past experiences for future successes. This tremendous adaptability means that our fellows succeed in industries where the primary constant is change.

One of the only constants in the military is learning new organizations and skill-sets—and this ability to transform has led to great outcomes in the early days of our program. That said, I’m so grateful for the people who trusted us with their career change—but even more so I’m excited for what they’ll accomplish next.

Shawnna Horne was a Cryptologic Technician in the Navy for 10 years prior to commencing her Military Fellowship. She held various roles in Computer Network Operations and Cyberspace Operations which made us very excited for some of the operations-themed fellowships we were offering.

She landed at Haus, a new way to buy and sell homes. It’s an early-stage technology company backed by Expa, a global network of entrepreneurs helping each other build companies. By the end of three months, she accepted a full-time role as an Operations Associate and has led a number of customer-facing initiatives at the company. She’s also working remotely while finishing up her college degree—an option that sometimes exists at technology companies that isn’t well-known.

Harrison Mann served for five years in the Army prior to landing at Affirm for his Military Fellowship. Affirm is an extremely fast-growing Financial Technology company started by one of the PayPal founders and is backed by Khosla, Lightspeed, and Andreessen Horowitz.

Affirm’s mission to deliver honest financial products that improve lives has resonated strongly with service members—and from my perspective it’s hard to find a more professionally valuable (truly great people at the company) and financially rewarding (stock options that IMHO will be worth millions) post-military opportunity.

Harrison ended up accepting an offer as an Operations Project Manager and works directly with the company’s Chief Operating Officer. He’s also been able to start the part-time MBA program at UC Berkeley post-fellowship. 

As a final example, Brendan Morin is now helping pioneer on-demand aerial ridesharing on the Uber Elevate team after four years in the Air Force. At Uber, Brendan worked on a variety of technology projects as a Military Fellow on the Physical Security and Elevate teams.

I always say the military is one of the most technical workforces on the planet. Every day service members are asked to pioneer, implement, and train other people to use first-of-its-kind technologies. It’s a seriously valuable skill that veterans don’t always realize they possess until they start doing similar things in new industries.

I can’t leave out the Marines. Will Tyndall was so laser-focused and efficient that we ended up hiring him. He enlisted out of high school, served for four years, and now he’s helping veterans make dramatic career shifts.

The Opportunities

Amongst the 50+ companies bringing in Military Fellows this fall, I wanted to quickly highlight a few exciting opportunities.

1. Work at a Major League Baseball team’s Front Office. MLB teams are eager to host Military Fellows particularly in VIP Sales, Business Development, and Data Analytics roles. If there’s a specific team you’d like to work for, apply online and shoot us an email at [email protected] to fast-track your application.
2. Solve major cyber security challenges at Symantec in Texas. We’re excited about the potential here because military experience uniquely prepares people to be highly-effective (and highly-compensated) Customer Success, Sales, and Sales Engineering professionals in cyber security at Symantec. We’re opening new fellowship locations soon, but Dallas is first! If this sounds interesting, apply online and shoot us an email at [email protected] to fast-track your application.
3. Break into consulting or project management at the world’s premier PR, marketing, and advertising firms. The Publicis Groupe is comprised of 30+ major agencies located worldwide and consults for leading brands like Mercedes-Benz, USAA, and professional sports teams. Apply online and shoot us an email at [email protected] to fast-track your application.

The Process

Leaving the military is complex, so we’re trying to make participating in this program simple.

1. Apply online. Our common application is the front door to 50+ exciting companies.
2. Receive military approval to participate. You can learn more about that on our FAQ page.
3. Work with our Talent Development team. We connect each Military Fellow with a Shift Talent Developer—a trusted advisor who provides unbiased career coaching throughout the fellowship experience. Our Talent Developers (like Angie & Jeremy) guide fellows through a process of clarifying skills, interests, and values to determine the best match for a successful fellowship. They help military candidates tell their story in a compelling way that recruiters and hiring managers will understand.
4. Get matched with companies. We facilitate fellowship programs that align closely with your skills and career preferences.

Helpful Links

• The Military Fellows 1-Pager that you can share with your chain of command.
• The Military Fellows Program Overview that you can share with your transition office.
• Early access to our Post-Military Job Search Handbook: everything you need to know to build a career you love.

Final Thoughts

This is the program I wished existed when I left the military a few years ago.

If you’d have told me as a bomb disposal officer I could have a clear path into an Andreessen Horowitz portfolio company, a Major League Baseball Front Office, or be highly-compensated to solve important problems in cyber security or global transportation, I would’ve done anything for the opportunity.

If you're starting to feel the same way, apply for our fall and winter programs.

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If you have questions you can check out our FAQ, email us ([email protected]), give us a call anytime at (877) 264-8018, or leave a comment below.

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